


Vodka and Dreams

by Snacky



Category: Atlantis Rising - Robert Sullivan, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, F/M, Ficlet, TSGverse AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-27
Updated: 2012-01-27
Packaged: 2017-10-27 17:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/298361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snacky/pseuds/Snacky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Edmund and Susan do some spying in Russia, then escape to Greece, where Edmund dreams of a lost world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Spy Who Loved Vodka

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rthstewart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rthstewart/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Stone Gryphon, Part 1, Oxfordshire 1942](https://archiveofourown.org/works/122870) by [rthstewart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rthstewart/pseuds/rthstewart). 



> Inspired by [Rthstewart](http://archiveofourown.org/users/rthstewart/pseuds/rthstewart)'s The Stone Gryphon-verse. A _Last Battle_ AU, where everyone lives and no one dies. A fusion with Robert Sullivan's _Atlantis Rising: The True Story of a Submerged Land, Yesterday and Today_.

Edmund hadn't wanted to come to Russia in the first place. He had rather thought to leave Rat and Crow to Susan in England, but first she had dragged him into that code breaking business, and now she had insisted on him coming along to Russia, while she tried to retrieve a wayward spy or two.

And yes, his fluency in Russian matched hers, but surely she could have found another equally talented colleague to bring along. After two months in Moscow, living in a concrete box that passed for a flat, spending his days roaming the city, tracking down rumors and leads, while Susan arranged clandestine meetings with her contacts; and his nights translating memos and notes from Russian and then encrypting them, and arguing with Susan over whose turn it was to sleep in the single bed and who got the floor, Edmund found himself wishing he had joined Peter and Eustace on their Florida expedition.

He imagined Florida was much warmer. And much safer. And that Peter was considerably more sober than Edmund had been in two months.

Edmund tried to remember the last time he was completely sober, and found it harder than he would have thought. But in his own defense, Moscow in March had very little to offer besides vodka. And potatoes. And vodka. And cabbage. And vodka. And snow, sleet, and slush. Oh, and vodka.

However, judging by the expression on Susan's face as she dumped the contents of his current bottle down the drain, he didn't think she was all that concerned with his boredom.

"I wasn't finished with that."

"You're finished now." She left the bottle by the sink and pulled her suitcase out from under the bed. "Get ready, we're leaving."

Edmund blinked. Maybe he was drunker than he realized. "Leaving? Now? But you haven't convinced Burgess --"

"I know, but I've run out of time. Sidorov said my cover's about to be blown, probably by Burgess himself. We have to catch the next train out of here, while we still have the time." Susan frowned at the suitcase as she hastily stuffed items in it, as if trying to make it expand by the power of will. Then she glanced at him. "What are you waiting for? We have to hurry, Sidorov's waiting downstairs to take us to the train."

Edmund groaned and gestured to the doorway, where his suitcase was already standing. "I never unpacked, remember? You told me we'd probably be leaving in a hurry." He slid the papers he'd been translating into a battered leather file - they'd be leaving these with Sidorov, rather than risk being caught with them while they traveled. "But wait, Burgess is the one turning you in? I thought SIS sent you after him since he'd been moony-eyed over you all those years."

"Evidently I'm not worth being tried for treason," Susan said wryly. She snapped the suitcase shut and pulled on her coat, and tossed his coat to him. "I really never thought I'd convince him to return with us, but at least we uncovered some very useful information while we've been here, so they'll be pleased back at home. We've made a good start."

"We've also made a good start on a long term drinking problem." 

"Speak for yourself." Susan snatched the leather file and swept past him out the door.

Edmund took both suitcases and shut the door behind them without a single glance back at the horrid flat. He followed Susan down several flights of stairs, thinking it would have been nice to finish the vodka before heading out into the cold night.

If they made it out of Russia without being caught, the first thing he intended to do was to join Peter and the others in Florida. Sun and relaxation and fresh fruit and no vodka and no danger and no KGB hot on their heels.

Well, maybe a little vodka with his orange juice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit that takes place between this chapter and the next, that can be found here: [Hijinks on the Black Sea](http://last-battle-au.livejournal.com/3400.html#cutid2), cowritten by me, Rthstewart, and Autumnia.


	2. Edmund in Santorini

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Mary in Florida, Susan and Tebbitt on a freighter in the Black Sea, but when does Edmund get lucky?

In Santorini, Edmund meets a girl who is as different from Morgan as it is possible to be and still remain female. She has very big eyes and a sweet smile and she charms him with her dancing and a bottle of ouzo, and it's very easy for him to continue being charmed all the way to her bed.

And that night, in her white-washed bedroom below a blue dome, Edmund dreams not of lions, but of the bulls of the Minoans, and the lost city he wanders in is not Cair Paravel, but Atlantis.

In his dreams he sees the wonders and glories of Atlantis, before the Cataclysm. He visits the greats harbors and marvels at the fleet of ships traveling in and out. He sees the elephants in the fields and wanders through the grand buildings and the farms and finally to the top of the mountain, in the center of the island. And there, he hears voices that he thinks he recognizes.

The next evening, he sits on the balcony outside Eleni's bedroom and watches the sunset over the Caldera, and both Narnia and Atlantis weigh heavy in his mind.


	3. Search for Atlantis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edmund can't leave Santorini yet.

Edmund finds many ways to pass the time in Santorini. Susan is busy with reports and cables and encrypted files, and equally as important, with Tebbitt. So Edmund spends his evenings with Eleni, dancing and drinking ouzo, and the vinsanto from her family's vineyards. Nights are spent in her bed, beneath the blue dome, and his dreams are always of Atlantis: the ring islands and the inner and outer harbors; the fields of sun-drenched gold, the magnificent structures of the main city, the music and the food and the people, greeting him like an old friend; and always, the volcano at the heart of Atlantis, towering over it all .

His days are spent exploring the island - visiting the vineyards with Eleni; practicing his Greek in the markets of Fira and Oia; driving from farm to farm, sampling local bounty; and hours in the harbor, watching the boats come and go, gliding smoothly over the deep blue of the Caldera. The days are warm and sundrenched, and Edmund goes from sunburnt to a deep tan, and soon feels at home on the island, connected in a way he hasn't felt in years.

He tries to match his dreams to the land he walks by day, and it's not hard to find a little of Atlantis in every corner of Santorini. In the local libraries, he reads about the history and legends of Santorini. He wonders about his new fluency in Greek, then remembers that he speaks it in his dreams.

When Susan is ready to leave Santorini, Edmund insists on staying. Atlantis calls to him in his dreams and while he doesn't know what exactly she wants, he knows he needs to stay until he understands. Susan is dubious, but Edmund assures her he'll be fine. He has his passport (several, in fact, thanks to her) and he has money, and he promises to be back in England when Peter and the others return. So Susan and Tebbitt depart, and Edmund waves to them from the docks, as their boat leaves harbor.

The next morning, Edmund hires a boat of his own, and sails out to find the Atlanteans.


End file.
